Profile

Victoria Ferrand Scott

Victoria Ferrand Scott uses a wide range of tools as an artist but is primarily a sculptor. When working in three dimensions her forms are often abstract with a strong organic character. They do not resemble or imitate anything specific but have their own identity. She works with materials such as plaster and latex exploring processes which harness the natural forces of gravity, pressure and elasticity to create sculptures which bulge with their own visceral life. Each piece is an experiment; the result of a fragile balance between different elements and forces. She wraps, binds, coats, and pours; testing, often to breaking point. It is a precarious path between freedom and control and the process often produces surprises and discoveries.

Drawing and photography have always formed an integral part of Ferrand Scott's work. Often she is searching for the abstract and sculptural qualities in mundane everyday situations; the way in which sunlight and shadows can transform the domestic into the mysterious and sensual. Outside she discovers new angles and weather conditions revealing natural feats of engineering.

In her video work she documents social interactions in public spaces, exploring the discrepancy between her experience of these encounters and the recordings made by the video camera. It is within these arenas that Ferrand Scott investigates the movement between presence and absence, and observes rituals and gestures that are as dramatic as those in an Italian Baroque painting. The scrupulous indifference of the camera combined with a heightened awareness reveals the ordinary to be quite extraordinary.

Ferrand Scott's AA2A residency at Leeds College of Art gave her valuable time and space in the casting workshop. She took the opportunity to investigate using concrete in latex moulds (made using layers of liquid latex bound with tape and elastic). The elasticity of the latex brings out a smooth, warm sensuality not usually associated with concrete. It is these qualities which she developed during her subsequent artist's residency in Civil Engineering at Leeds University funded by the Leverhulme Trust. The laboratory facilities enabled her to develop fluid concrete mixes designed for use with flexible forming.

2012 - Sculptural Concrete: A process lead investigation into fluidity, expanded form, and tactility, The Royal Society, London2012 - Visiting Speaker, BA Art and Design, University of Leeds2010 - Sculptors on Sculpture, Royal British Society of Sculptors, London2009 - Layers of Response, Landscape and Arts Network, Pateley Bridge, West Yorkshire